About Respite Care

Whether you're supporting a family member or a friend, or being helped by someone to keep your independence, you'll recognise the value of respite care.

Respite services are services provided to allow a carer to have a period of rest from the responsibilities of the caring role. This may mean you have the ability to do something you enjoy, better take care of yourself, relax, or even attend a medical appointment.

Our service provides time off when a carer needs a break, and it's a program that's been thoughtfully designed to maintain a high quality of support while the carer recharges their batteries.

Respite - which can be arranged for the day, overnight, or all the way up to a few weeks - is available across a variety of locations: at one of our cottages, from one of our residential care locations, at home or at a location that's best for you.

How to make a booking for a first appointment?

A booking can be made at any location by calling our Southern Cross Care Customer Connect Centre on 1300 203 077. We will discuss any questions you may have and coordinate any additional supports or referrals you may need. If you require interpreting or translating services we can also arrange this on your behalf.

A respite coordinator will then be in touch to book an appointment at a time suitable for you. We will ask you to bring in details about medication and medical history at the time of appointment.

What to expect upon assessment?

For Buddy flexible respite, the assessment will be completed within your own home. For Myrtle Cottage or Willow Fern bookings, we will welcome you at the cottage entrance, provide you with a tour of facilities and find a quiet place to sit. We will then provide you with a privacy policy to read and a customer information form, and consent form to complete. These can also be sent out prior to appointment at your request. We will also provide you with information regarding advocacy and client rights and responsibilities.

Your Respite Coordinator will then commence the initial assessment with you. The initial assessment is comprehensive and may take up to an hour to complete. We will assess a range of functions including abilities, cognition and mobility. We will also discuss carer wellness, and include quality of life testing of both the carer and the customer who will receive services. A Wellbeing Support plan will then be developed, summarizing the needs and plan discussed within your assessment.

All Southern Cross Care services promote active living, aiming to achieve outcomes of wellness, reablement and/ or independence. Your respite coordinator will work with you to tailor services and payment options to meet your individual needs advising you of a range of other Southern Cross and Community Services available to assist you to meet your goals.

If you require a different type of service, we can then assist to refer you to this service along the appropriate path, ensuring the information you would like is shared to reduce duplication of information. If you would like, we can incorporate a range of assessments to occur within the cottage including a Physiotherapy falls or mobility assessment, Speech Pathology swallowing or speech assessment and dietetic assessment or a behavioural assessment. We can also coordinate an Occupational Home Safety assessment to occur at a time convenient to you.

Additional Information

We have a range of information that we can provide to you including from Community Organisations such as Alzheimers SA, including Dementia Behavioural Management Advisory Services (DBMAS), the Carers Gateway, Aged Rights Advocacy Service and information from the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who provides the care?

We want to give the best care possible. To that end, all of our specialist staff are trained to give attentive, individualised care. They aim to make respite an enjoyable experience for the people they care for. And because you know the person you care for is in good hands, they make it a positive experience for you too.

How much does it cost?

We’re a not-for profit organisation, and all of our services are government-subsidised. However, in order for us to provide the best possible care, we do ask you for a contribution.
This amount is worked out case-by-case, and we never refuse service on financial grounds.
There is no cancellation fee, but we appreciate as much notice as possible so that we can assist others.

What happens if they become unwell while in care?

Our staff are all trained to respond to emergencies. In most cases we call an ambulance to ensure the person in our care receives the best medical treatment.
If you have any preferences as to how you would like emergency situations handled, don’t hesitate to let us know.

What is a Carer?

Carers are usually family members or friends who provide support to a person who cannot care for themselves. Carers may be partners, brothers, sisters, friends or children of any age. They may give care for a few hours a week or all day every day, depending on the level of support needed. Many carers don’t consider themselves to be carers; they see just themselves as family members. So they may not ask for help, and can sometimes miss out on the wide range of services available to help them meet their responsibilities.

Do I need to pack anything?

So we can provide appropriate care, we will need you to pack a few items. For daytime care it’s important to bring the following:
- Any medication packed in Webster or Sachet pack
- Supplied by a Pharmacist aids such as a walking stick or frame continence aids appropriate clothing
- Footwear to wear outside

If the person you’re looking after is staying overnight, as well as the items above, you’ll need to bring:
- Nightclothes
- Toiletries (all the items used daily)

We also ask that you label all clothes to ensure they do not get mixed up.

When can I visit?

We welcome visitors at both our cottages. But it’s important to keep in mind that these places are for other clients as well, and excessive numbers can cause our clients distress.

Our respite care cottages can be visited at any time during our opening hours.

Our respite services are for people who care for someone with dementia.

The majority of places are for people aged over the age of 65 or over the age of 50 for people from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. Support is also available for carers of people with dementia under the age of 65 based on assessed need.

Carers, health professionals or community service providers can also make referrals by contacting our respite service.

What is respite?

Respite is ‘taking time away or a break from regular roles or activities that may be challenging’ . In practice, it means finding someone to take over your care role for a short time, so you can have some time to yourself.

Our respite services are flexible and responsive to both the needs of the carer and care recipient. We provide respite programs and activities that are safe, engaging, stimulating and focused on individual interests.

We provide personalised respite care to people living with all types of dementia. We specialise in caring for people who may have difficulty accessing other support due to challenging behaviours.

We offer in-home, centre-based, and overnight care, so you can find a respite option that works for you .